WHAT IS THE FLIC-FLAC SPIDER THAT INSPIRED THE BIONICWHEELBOT?

The Moroccan flic-flac spider, also known as Cebrennus rechenbergi, was discovered in the Erg Chebbi desert in 2015.

The agile arachnid uses a somersaulting motion to escape from predators.

The spider first assumes a threatening posture to make itself appear as big as possible, but if the danger persists, the spider runs and, about half the time, cartwheels.

The Moroccan flic-flac spider hurls itself up and down hills in a cartwheel, as shown in the sequence of images above, as a last ditch resort to help it escape from predators. It can travel twice as fast when spinning than it can when running on its legs normally

Scientists found that the spider could cartwheel about twice as fast as it could run. Terrain is also not a challenge - the spider can spin across flat ground as well as up and down hills.

Rather than attempting to cartwheel away, the spider propels itself toward the source of the threat, perhaps invoking the theory that the best defense is a good offense.

In the barren sand dunes where the spider lives, running away can prove pointless because there is no place to hide.